Did you know Americans consume a whopping 400 million cups of coffee per day, or 146,000,000,000 (146 Billion) cups of coffee per year, according to Coffee-Statistics .com. In fact, the United States is the number one consumer of coffee in the world.
Obviously, coffee is a good business to be in. Daniel O. Morgan thought so too and in 2012 he launched Morgan Bailey Premium Coffee, an African specialty coffee and tea company. Based in Los Angeles, Morgan Bailey Coffee produces and sells worldwide premium quality coffee made of 100 percent of pure African Arabica coffee beans. They distribute only the highest quality of natural coffee beans imported straight from Africa.
Tough, but comforting, childhood memories prompted Morgan to launch Morgan Bailey Premium Coffee. ?I launched Morgan Bailey Coffee from a passion of doing something great for another,” he says. “I grew up in a house of women, my great grandmother, grandmother, my aunt, and my mother all in a two-bedroom shotgun home with one bathroom and an out-house. My brother and I would sleep on the floor in the living room, my cousin would sleep in the bed with his mother, my grandmother and great grandmother would sleep in the same room on two full-size beds side by side. My mother, because we slept in the living room,? slept on a day bed.? It was tight, but we managed!”
And coffee time was comforting. “The only time in our house to have conversation was at the coffee pot, well when my family would talk about family things and memories,? says Morgan. ?My great grandmother and grandmother worked most of their lives as seamstresses. They would all gather in the kitchen around the coffee pot and talk about the morning news and what happened on [the soap opera] ?Days of Our Lives.? ?But when the pot was off the screaming began! ?Pick up those clothes, take the garbage out, put those clothes in the dirty clothes basket?only when the pot was on was when there was happiness.”
He adds, “I had to get a job early at age 15 and try to help my mom pay for school activities for me and my brother. I made a $100 every weekend doing face-painting and puppet shows for young kids.? I remember on a Sunday I got my first paycheck and was so excited to receive my $100 check. I remember my family talking about how there was no coffee. When I walked in and pulled out a bag of coffee with chicory and a fried apple pie, their faces went from frowns to smiles.? They were so happy and we were so broke that I told them, ?You know, I am going to open the biggest coffee company ever and you can have all the coffee you want in the world!?
When he did just that, his grandmother became a true Morgan Bailey Drinker. ?She would ask my mother every morning, ?where is my grandson?s Morgan Bailey?? My mom would say ?his coffee,? my grandmother would say ?it’s not coffee. It’s Morgan Bailey,?? shares Morgan.?
Morgan, President/CEO, started the company with just $5,000–and ?an idea to recreate the same feeling for everyone I can!?? Morgan says he?s a giver and that is his purpose in life?to share and give. Today, the teas and coffees are sold at Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Lazy Acres, Vicente Foods online at the company?s website (morganbaileycoffee .com) and Amazon.
Along the way, Morgan has learned a few important business strategies. ?I learned the importance of store demos and advertising to consumers. Sales are based on customer awareness,? he says.
Morgan has big plans for the company. ?I want to become a household coffee brand, to build three facilities worldwide, and to employ 900 people as well as educate 600 kids every year through charter schools we provide,? he shares.
For now, Morgan?s really enjoying what he does. ?What I enjoy the most is having the ability to brighten someone’s day through a great cup of coffee,? he says.
